This invention relates to faucets of the type having a pullout spray head and is particularly concerned with an improved docking collar. The docking collar is fixed at or near the end of a spout for mating with a pullout spray head or wand to releasably hold or mount the spray head to the spout. The docking collar of the prior art typically includes a plurality of cantilevered, flexible snap fingers which are engageable with recesses or the like in a portion of the pullout spray head which fits into the collar. The snap fingers of the prior art collar rely on the inherent resiliency of the plastic material of which the collar is made to produce a retaining force. This retaining force, while enough to hold the wand on the spout, can be overcome when a user wishes to release the wand from the spout. Release of the spray head is achieved by simply pulling outwardly or downwardly on the spray head until the snap fingers are forced to flex out of the mating recesses.
One problem with the snap finger arrangement of the prior art docking collar is the retention force is produced solely by the flexibility of the cantilevered fingers. That flexibility, and thus the retention force, can change over time as the material ages and as the number of dock-and-release cycles increases. This counsels a snap finger design that has a higher retention force than optimum at the outset of the product's life, with the expectation that the retention force will decline over time. The high initial retention force leads to higher stresses on the spout when the user has to overcome the retention force to pull out the spray head. This is a particular problem with high arc, gooseneck type spouts, such as in bar faucets and some kitchen faucets. Another difficulty with high initial retention force is the potential for creating a negative first impression on prospective purchasers of the faucet. Purchasers may try to release the wand from the spout in a floor sample faucet and decide not to purchase the faucet due to the perceived difficulty of undocking the wand. Still another problem with prior art snap finger designs is they are susceptible to fatigue failure.